


My First and Last

by chaeturtle_x



Category: NCT (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Bully, M/M, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-12 08:42:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaeturtle_x/pseuds/chaeturtle_x
Summary: Where Lee Minho is the school's new kid and befriends Han Jisung, the bullied kid.





	1. Chapter 1

Jisung's POV

"Class please welcome Lee Minho, he will be joining our class starting today." Mr Park announced.

I raised my head wearily to watch a brown haired boy enter the room. He carried himself in a cool way, which made me stare in awe until I realised he was probably going to be another one of my bullies.

He just looked like that sort of person who would sit by and watch me get bullied. Maybe throw in a few insults or punches himself, to get a reaction out of me.

"Hello, I'm Lee Minho. I hope we'll get along." he bowed and then made eye contact with me when he lifted his head.

I quickly looked down, feeling my cheeks burn red in embarrassment. 

He couldn't have noticed me staring right? He'll definitely make fun of me for that.

"Okay Minho you can take the spare seat on the far left beside the wall." Mr Park pointed to the spot behind me.

Great, he was in the perfect position to poke and kick my chair.

Poke.

I knew it, he was just like the others. I ignored him and hunched over my desk as I waited for class to start.

Poke poke.

I heard the familiar sniggers of my bullies and I turned around to glare at Minho. 

He looked at me with a confused expression. "Can I borrow a pen?"

A pen?

"Y-you want to borrow a p-pen?" I stuttered, mentally face palming at how stupid I sounded.

"Yeah..." he trailed off and glanced at Taeyong who was sitting on the table next to mine, laughing into his hand. "Do you have a spare?"

"Sure." I turned quickly and took out my only pen before handing it to him.

"Thank you." he smiled.

"No problem." I whispered, turning back to the front with my cheeks now even redder than before.

I can do without a pen for this lesson right? I'll use a pencil and copy my notes up when I get home.

The small butterflies I felt in my chest quickly disappeared when I thought about how I'd never ever see that beautiful smile again once he finds out I'm the class reject.

No one wants to be friends with the kid that gets bullied in fear of getting bullied themselves.

Luckily for me I was mostly distracted throughout the lesson so I didn't have much to write down. That didn't mean well for my grades though, I was already failing most classes.

The bell rang signalling end of first period and I slammed my notebook shut so the teacher wouldn't tell me off for writing in pencil. I continued like this until lunch time, the time of day I hate the most.

"Yo Han." Taeyong stood beside my table. "Go buy me a sandwich from the canteen."

"Buy me one too." Yuta slung his arm around Taeyong's shoulders and smirked at me.

I stood up quickly, grabbing my wallet before speed walking out the classroom.

"Run! If you're not back here in a minute I'll hurt you Han!" Taeyong yelled.

I began to run even though it was forbidden to run in the corridors, ignoring the stares and angry shouts of teachers. I made it to the canteen in no time and shifted from one foot to the other as waited in the queue.

No way in hell was I going to be back in less than a minute. I sighed and slouched down, already submitting myself to my fate.

Once I had grabbed two sandwiches and paid for them I ran back to class, sweat making my fringe stick to my forehead. 

"You're late." Taeyong grabbed my hair and pulled it to the side.

"It-it hurts!" I cried out, weakly putting my hands up to stop him from pulling my hair off my scalp. 

"It hurts huh?" he smirked.

"Y-yes..."

"Do you know what else hurts?" he tightened his grip. "My stomach from waiting for so long for the food."

"I'm s-sorry..."

"Sorry isn't good enough Han." he had now put his face right in front of my so I could feel the heat from his breath against my face. "Meet me at the entrance after school."

He shoved me harshly so that I tripped over my own feet and fell into the tables, my head hitting one of them.

"Oww." I groaned and held onto my head. I could feel tears building up but I refused to let them drop in front of Taeyong.

"What was that for?" I heard a cold voice ask.

"He deserves it." Yuta scoffed.

"For not bringing you food in the designated amount of time? He deserves to be pushed and bullied for that? Really?"

For the first time ever someone was sticking up for me.

"Hey Minho, watch yourself. You don't know how things are around here, if you did you wouldn't defend him." Taeyong replied in an equally cold voice.

"So tell me, what did he do to deserve this?"

"He-"

"Actually save it, I'd rather hear it from his own mouth than hear a rumour from bullies." he held out a hand for me to take.

I stared up at him for a few seconds, unsure of whether to trust him or not. Taking a leap of faith I put my hand in his and let him pull me up.

"Let's go." he kept his hand in mine and pulled me along with him.

"Where to?" I asked nervously.

"The nurse's office of course, you banged your head pretty bad."

"Oh." I touched the side of my head tentatively and hissed in pain.

He shot me a worried glance as we entered the office. "You shouldn't let them push you around Jisung."

"How do you know my name?" I cocked my head to the side, I was sure I hadn't introduced myself to him.

There it was, the adorable, beautiful smile I was scared I would never see again.

"It was on your pen, Han Jisung."


	2. Chapter 2

Jisung's POV

I smiled dazedly back at him, getting myself lost in those sparkling eyes of his.

"Earth to Han Jisung." he waved his hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I shook my head and noticed the nurse standing next to him.

When did she get here?

"You zoned out, I think the injury to your head might be more serious than we first thought." Minho said worriedly.

I zoned out because of you Minho, you oblivious boy. He had no idea the effect he was having on my whole body right now.

"Can you tell me what happened?" the nurse asked as she probed my head.

"I-I fell and banged my head on one of the desks."

It wasn't completely a lie, I just didn't mention the fact I'd been pushed.

Minho opened his mouth to speak but I raised my eyebrows at him to stop him from saying anything about Taeyong.

He sighed and closed his mouth, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"You can leave him here with me, I don't think he'll be returning to lessons after lunch." the nurse glanced up at Minho who was standing around awkwardly.

He looked at me and cleared his throat. "Will he be okay?"

She smiled. "Jisung is a regular here, no matter how badly bruised he is, he always recovers. He's never come in here with anyone else though, are you his friend?"

Minho coughed. "I'm a new student, joined today."

"Ah I see." she nodded.

"I'll leave, okay?" he said as if asking me for permission.

I nodded slowly, desperately wanting to ask him to stay but I couldn't do that to the new kid.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow or something."

He nodded and turned towards the door before turning back. "Oh yeah... about Taeyong and what he said earlier about meeting him after school-"

"It's cool Minho." I stopped him from continuing. "I'm used to it, you don't have to interfere."

He hesitated before walking out with his hands in his pockets. I hoped he wouldn't get bullied because of me, I would hate if Taeyong picked on him just because he stood up for me.

"Get some rest Jisung, you have a couple hours until school finishes so take a nap and rest your head." the nurse patted my leg before standing up and closing the divider curtains to give me privacy.

She was probably sick of seeing me here, she probably wondered why I was so clumsy and how I managed to bruise myself in strange places but I didn't have the guts to tell her what is going on. 

I laid down and felt the room spin a bit before I closed my eyes and let sleep take over.

When I woke up I noticed a bottle of water plus a packet of crisps next to my pillow. A note laid beside them with 'In case you're hungry when you wake up - M' written on it, so I could only assume it was from Minho. He had nice handwriting.

I felt a smile come into my face and my heart swelled at the thought of someone caring for me.

I paused. Did he care for me? Or was he just stringing me along until he could laugh at me one day and say it was all a prank.

I also noticed my backpack on the floor next to the bed. He must have packed up my things and brought it here for me.

These small things made me overwhelmingly happy, and I tried to contain my giddiness as I inhaled the food due to how hungry I was.

It was already past school closing time so I hoped Taeyong wouldn't be waiting for me. I slung on my backpack and walked out the nurse's office towards the entrance.

My eyes nervously scanned the area, it didn't seem as if anyone was waiting for me. I was about to let out a sigh of relief when I saw a familiar pair of shoes sticking out from behind a wall.

I stopped, glancing back at the school building and wondering if I should just wait for him to leave or make a run for it.

I panicked when I saw him stick his head around the wall and noticed me standing there.

"Han! There you are." he smirked.

I was off running. I ran back towards the school building, hearing his footsteps behind me.

"You've got nowhere to run Han." he mocked.

He was right, after all he was one of the fastest runners in the year. I had no chance of outrunning him.

My backpack got grabbed and I was pulled backwards and slammed to the floor.

"Trying to escape Hannie?" he sat on my chest, forbidding me from getting up off the floor.

"Let me go Taeyong." I grit my teeth.

"But Han." he put on a fake sad expression. "You didn't bring my lunch on time today, why would I let you go?"

"It's just lunch." I spat. "Get over it."

I felt his fist connect with my nose before I'd even processed his hand whizzing towards my face.

"What was that?" he growled. "Did you just talk back to me?"

Thinking of Minho gave me enough courage to talk back to Taeyong, I had no idea why though.

"Yeah, it's about time I stood up to you and stopped you from spreading untrue rumours about me." I winced at the pain in my nose.

He punched me again, and then again until I was seeing stars and could feel the blood flowing out my nose. My cheekbone was aching from all the blows to my face and I was sure I'd have a massive bruise tomorrow.

"There, you look much prettier with red, black and blue colours all over your face." he sneered.

I swallowed thickly, my eyes half closed from the pain and choked up some saliva.

I didn't react when Taeyong was pulled off me suddenly, I could barely hear the shouts from the ringing in my ears. I squinted weakly at the figure that was throwing punches at my aggressor. 

I knew Taeyong had enemies in other classes but this was the first time he'd been stopped from attacking me. I was grateful for whoever it was.

"Get out of here." a familiar voice growled and I watched through blurry eyes as Taeyong's figure stumbled and ran out the building.

"Are you okay?" the soft voice asked while he peered down at me. 

I winced as he touched my injured face and I didn't bother to reply. I obviously was not okay from the injuries on my face but I was used to walking home with bruises all over my body. Today was going to be another one of those days.

The stranger picked me up suddenly bridal style despite my weak sound of protest.

"I'm taking you to my house to fix you up."

I held onto him tightly in fear of being dropped before wiping my eyes and looking up at him.

"Minho?"


	3. Chapter 3

Jisung's POV

He carried me all the way to his house, which actually wasn't far from mine. He laid me down carefully onto the couch and went to fetch the medicine box.

I stared up at the ceiling, feeling like I was in a dream. Hours ago I was staring at the new boy standing at the front of the classroom and now I was lying on his couch. I didn't want this dream to end.

"You're spaced out again." he commented, making me jump slightly.

He laughed softly at my shocked expression which was because he'd suddenly appeared next to me.

He patted a wet towel onto my face while I stared at his face silently. Once he'd finished cleaning my wounds he pulled out a tube of antiseptic cream.

"Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's okay." he said gently, his hands moving quickly and applying cream onto my cuts.

He was referring to what I'd said in the nurse's office.

I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling tired all over again. "Why are you helping me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You were being punched in the face by Taeyong, I couldn't just leave you there."

I opened my eyes again. "Anyone else would have watched and laughed, you're the only person who has actually stood up to him for me."

He continued to gently spread the cream onto my cuts before applying a cream for bruises.

"I'm not the type of person to sit back and watch anyone get bullied." he eventually said, making eye contact for a brief moment before reaching into the medicine box and pulling out plasters.

How much more wrong could I have been? I felt guilty for even assuming he was one of those people who'd punch and laugh at me.

"A lot of people assume I'm some cold guy who doesn't care about others, but I'm not." he said. 

"Sorry." I whispered as he placed a plaster onto my cheek.

"What for?"

"For assuming the same as the other people."

"It's not your fault." he shrugged. "I find it difficult to express emotions unless I really know someone."

"M-me too... actually... I wouldn't know because I've never had a friend."

"Really?"

I nodded and sat up as he applied the final plaster.

"Why not?"

"I'd rather not talk about it..." I clasped my hands together on my lap, letting my fringe flop over my eyes and hide the vulnerability in them.

"Hey." he said softly, using a hand to lift my head up. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me. We're strangers after all, but..."

"But?" I prompted him.

"I would like to get to know you better."

The butterflies erupted in my chest again and nervous laughter escaped my mouth without my permission.

"You're joking right?"

I was very aware I was pushing him away but I didn't want to get too comfortable.

"I'm not joking." he looked hurt. "I want to be your friend."

"I don't think you know what it means to be my friend..."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? If I become your friend you're scared I won't be able to stand up to the bullies?"

How did he know what I was thinking so perfectly?

"Yeah." I said softly, pushing his hand away which was still holding onto my face.

Instead of backing away he placed both hands on my cheeks and forced me to look him straight in the eyes.

"I may not know much about you, or this school, or about the people who believe the rumours but I'm willing to get to know you for you. I won't believe anything anyone else says about you unless you confirm it with me. I won't force you to tell me anything until you're ready."

I kept my mouth closed. I was too scared I'd burst into tears if I tried to speak.

"And I can stand up for myself." he smirked. "I can deal with people bullying me but I won't let them lay a finger on you ever again."

His voice was so soothing, comforting and made a warm feeling rise inside me. Was what he was saying true? Did I not have to deal with bullying ever again?

"What do you say?" he brought me out of my thoughts.

"Okay." I smiled and then bit my lip to stop myself from smiling too wide.

He grinned. "I can't wait to get to know you Han."

I froze. "Please don't call me that."

"Why?"

"I hate being called Han... Taeyong always calls me that, he never calls me Jisung. So whenever I hear the name Han I get flashbacks of what he's said and done to me."

"Oh, sorry Jisung. I'll make sure you only have good memories associated with that name." he moved from his spot on the floor to sit beside me on the couch.

I nodded. "Actually..."

He looked at me questioningly. 

"Maybe if you call me Han I won't have bad memories associated with the name any more?" I pondered. "I could get used to hearing you call me Han and I won't feel so bad."

"That's a clever idea, I can do that."

"You can choose though, if you want to call me Han or Jisung it's up to you."

"Can I call you Jisungie too if I want to?" he grinned cheekily. "Or Hannie."

I laughed for real this time, not bothering to hide my giddiness. "Yeah, sounds good."

"Then what are you going to call me?"

I tapped my chin while I thought about a nickname for him.

"Minnie?" I asked him cautiously.

He nodded and bounced on the spot in excitement. "I love it."

I smiled shyly as I went back into my thoughts.

He was my first friend.

The first person to show me kindness.

The one that strangely made me feel slightly hopeful about the future.

Lee Minho.


	4. Chapter 4

Jisung's POV

I walked to my house which was only a ten minute walk away. Minho had offered to walk me home but I refused, I didn't want my mother seeing me walk with anyone. 

"I'm home." I said quietly, not wanting to alert her to my presence but she'd told me to tell her when I arrived home everyday. 

"You're late." I was about to walk up the stairs when she appeared behind me.

I sighed and turned around. "I-I had something to do."

"Did that have something have anything to do with your face?"

I touched my hand to my face, feeling the plasters. "Yeah..."

She grabbed my chin and pulled my head up roughly to examine the bruises.

"Whoever did this did a real good job." she smirked. "Nice."

"Mum..." I felt the tears threatening to spill at her usual nasty words. "Why do you hate me?"

Her face became cold. "You know why I hate you Han."

"But it wasn't my fault..."

She slapped me hard across the face, hitting the sensitive area that Taeyong had punched earlier.

I whimpered and held onto my face, feeling the happiness from earlier wear off.

"It was your fault you stupid child." she sneered. "You look so pathetic right now, go to your room and be quiet so I can pretend you don't exist."

I scrambled up the stairs, tripping near the top and slamming my shin into one of the steps.

I cursed and held onto my leg as I limped to my room and closed the door quietly. I sat down on my bed and lifted my trouser leg up to examine the bruise that was already forming.

"Oww..." I groaned at even the slightest touch.

I slumped backwards so that my legs were hanging off the bed and the upper half of my body was lying down.

I closed my eyes and thought back to Minho gently applying the cream to my face. His touch had been so gentle, as if he was scared of hurting me. He looked especially attractive when he was concentrating while putting the plasters on my face.

No Jisung you can't fall for him. I sat up quickly and shook my head to get rid of the thoughts. He's my friend and I can't risk losing him just because I have a stupid crush on him.

Why did I have a crush on him in the first place? Sure he was attractive but I barely knew him.

I thought about how he'd stood up to Taeyong and taken me to the nurse's office. Damn he had a nice personality too, from what I'd seen so far.

"Don't crush on him Jisung." I said out loud this time and clutched at my hair. "He's just a friend, just a friend... yep just a friend."

I grabbed my backpack which I had thrown onto the floor and unzipped it to pull out my notebook. Now I had to copy up my notes.

I noticed the pen I'd given Minho attached to the side of the notebook. He must have put it in my bag before bringing it to the nurse's office.

I opened it up to the page I needed to copy and noticed a scribble at the bottom of the page. Squinting closer I read 'You could have told me this was your only pen, but I'm grateful you let me borrow it otherwise I wouldn't have found out your name and gotten to talk to you - M'.

This guy... he was making my stomach do flips and cartwheels.

I opened my drawer and sifted through my extra pens. I picked one out and laid it on my desk.

"Now if Minnie asks me for a pen I will be prepared." I grinned to myself.

I wrote up my notes and started on my homework, suddenly not feeling so worried about going to school tomorrow.

Once I'd finished I took some snacks out which I kept at the bottom of my wardrobe to hide from my mother. She never cooked dinner for me so I had to sneak snacks inside the house and eat them in secret.

Then I packed my bag, washed up and slid inside my bed with a smile on my face. I wanted to fall asleep as quickly as possible so that tomorrow would come quicker.

I couldn't wait to spend the whole day tomorrow with Minho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna thank you all for the support on this book, this grew at such an enormous rate (for me) I was shocked when I went onto ao3 last night before I went to bed. I had posted the first chapter a few hours prior and suddenly I had so many views and kudos already! My previous two books I posted here didn't grow nearly as fast! Anyway thanks to all the support I am feeling really motivated at writing so I will hopefully not leave you hanging for the upcoming chapters ^^


	5. Chapter 5

Jisung's POV

I felt something hit my cheek with a force which could only mean the object was thrown with intent, and not by accident.

I looked down to see the object was a heavily filled pencil case owned by no other than Lee Taeyong.

I picked it up and threw it back onto his desk.

He smirked at me, but with a little less confidence than usual. One of his eyes was black and blue while his lip had a minor cut from where Minho had hit him yesterday.

"Your loser friend isn't here to defend you now." Taeyong raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing." I replied shortly.

He took out a pencil from his pencil case and continuously jabbed my arm.

I sighed at his childishness before grabbing the pencil and snapping it in half.

His eyes widened as his single brain cell processed what I'd done and reacted as if I'd just committed a murder.

"You'll regret that." he sneered and quickly turned back to face the front.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Minho smiling at me.

"Good morning, sleep well?"

I nodded shyly with an equally bright smile.

"Thanks for yesterday, and I found the note you left me." I held my notebook up and pointed to the scribble.

He laughed. "Oh yeah, I've brought my own pen today so you won't have to suffer with a pencil." 

I nodded, feeling disappointed I couldn't give him my spare pen.

"Lee Minho come see me outside." Mr Park suddenly popped his head into the classroom and motioned for Minho to follow him.

I turned and shot him a confused look which he mirrored before slowly walking out the room.

"I doubt you'll see him ever again." Taeyong didn't bother turning to look at me but I could see the smirk plastered onto his face.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's against school rules to beat up another student." he faked a distressed expression and held his hand to his heart dramatically. "I can't believe you'd make friends with such a violent person."

"You reported him?" I almost shouted in anger.

"Of course I did, he ruined my beautiful face."

"You ruined my face too!" now I was yelling and had the attention of the whole class.

"It was already ugly, no harm done."

I stood up angrily, my chair flipping over backwards and I didn't hesitate before slapping him harshly across the face.

An audible gasp was heard in the room but I ignored the stares. It was none of their business anyway.

"His violence is already rubbing off on you." Taeyong held onto his cheek as he looked up at me.

He glanced at the door briefly before smirking and leaning closer. "Hit me again, I dare you."

"As you wish." I slammed my fist into his nose, watching as blood spurted onto his desk and began to drip down to his mouth.

"Han Jisung!" I froze as I heard Mr Park's shocked shout behind me. "Come here at once!"

Taeyong smiled at me, looking a bit maniacal with blood on his teeth. "Bye bye." he waved.

I growled lowly and stomped to the door and followed the teacher to where Minho stood in the corridor.

"I heard reports that Minho was violent but I expected more of you Jisung." he sent me a disappointed look.

"Sir he-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses." he cut me off. "You're both suspended for the rest of the week." 

"What about my face huh?! Haven't you noticed me come into school almost everyday with fresh bruises and cuts?" I raised my voice.

"You haven't reported anything to me or to the principal, I can only help you if you speak up Jisung."

I balled my hands into fists in anger. "You wouldn't help me anyway, since Taeyong's family is one of the top donors to the school."

"Taeyong is a good kid, troubled but I don't believe he could do something so bad."

"Why don't you check the CCTV cameras in the school?" Minho asked.

Mr Park nodded. "I will make a request to see the CCTV footage but for now I can only take action from the proof right in front of my eyes. I watched you punch Lee Taeyong, that's enough proof isn't it?"

"He deserved it." I gritted my teeth.

"No one deserves to be physically assaulted."

"Yeah you're right." I nodded. "Unless it's in self defence or if they instigate the attack."

He ignored my statement. "Grab your bags and leave the school. I'll be contacting your families and hope you do some self reflection before you come back next week."

I was about to open my mouth to protest but Minho grabbed my hand. We made brief eye contact before he gave me a small nod and pulled me into the classroom to get our belongings. I could hear whispers about us holding hands but I avoided eye contact with everyone.

"Come on." Minho said softly and led me out of the classroom. "Let's have fun today okay? We can deal with the consequences later."

A smile lit up my face and I nodded eagerly. "Sure."

"I don't blame you for hitting him, he had it coming. I'm only surprised you didn't do it earlier."

I laughed. "I was too scared to hit him."

He nodded. "Understandable. Follow me Jisungie, I have something I want to show you."


	6. Chapter 6

Jisung's POV

We kept walking until we reached the edge of the woods which was situated near our houses.

"You're not bringing me here to murder me are you?" I asked half jokingly.

He laughed. "I'm offended you'd even think like that, I'm not Taeyong you know. There's a place I want to show you that I found when I was younger."

We walked hand in hand through the trees and over piles of twigs and leaves.

"You were here when you were younger?" I asked.

"I was brought up here and then I moved to Seoul for a few years due to my step-father's job. Recently my parents had a fight and my mother and I moved back here."

I stayed silent while I listened to what he had to say. I squeezed his hand comfortingly to let him know he wasn't alone.

"I've never really explored this area." I told him. "I spend most of my time indoors or in the local parks."

He stopped suddenly and looked at me. "Close your eyes."

I raised an eyebrow before doing what I was told.

"Don't peek!"

"I won't." I blindly walked where his hand led me until he told me to lie down.

I cautiously laid down on my back and waited for his next instruction.

"Open your eyes."

I opened them and the first thing I noticed was the bright blue sky above me. I flipped onto my front and realised we were in some sort of clearing in the middle of the woods.

"Wow." I said in awe. "I had no idea this was here."

He grinned, he was lying on his back next to me. "I come here when I'm stressed to watch the squirrels search for nuts or the birds fight over worms."

I turned my head to the side and laid my head on my hands. "It's so peaceful, I think I could fall asleep."

"There's a tree house over there." he pointed to the other side of me. "When I was younger my biological father built it for me so it was my safe spot when my parents started arguing and eventually split."

I moved my eyes from the tree house to his face.

"Do you miss him?" I asked softly.

He nodded slowly. "I hated my step father, I never understood why my parents split."

"Do you keep in touch with your father?"

He shook his head. "He completely cut off contact with my mother and I. I have a feeling I did something wrong and he hates me, but I don't know why."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, maybe your mother doesn't want you to talk to him or something."

He shrugged and stood up. "Want to go to the tree house?"

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my clothes. "Okay."

"It's not difficult to climb up the branches, I'll show you how to do it if you want."

"I'm sure I can do it." I said confidently and climbed onto the first branch, gripping onto the trunk tightly. There were many places for me to hold onto and place my feet so I managed to get to the tree house in no time at all.

I climbed inside and gave him a thumbs up.

He soon joined me and began to throw twigs and leaves out the entrance. "Seems as if it's gotten a bit dirty since I last visited."

"It's cool." I helped him clear it out before resting my back against the wall.

"I've only ever brought two other friends here when I was younger." he sat down next to me.

"Are you still friends with them?"

He shrugged. "They go to our school but they're in a different class. I haven't had a chance to find and talk to them yet."

"What are their names? Maybe I know them."

"Felix and Chan."

"Oh the Aussies? They seem pretty cool."

He glanced at me. "Have you talked to them?"

"Nah I've just seen them in the corridors and at lunch. They're kind of like celebrities in our school."

"No way!" he laughed. "They were so quiet when I last saw them, they must be so different then."

We stayed silent for a while. It was a comfortable silence and I felt relaxed listening to his quiet breathing.

"Do you have a good relationship with your father?" he asked suddenly.

I felt my throat tighten. "He's dead." I whispered.

"Crap I'm so sorry Jisungie, I wouldn't have asked if I'd known."

"Don't worry about it." I assured him. "It happened when I was a baby."

He reached for my hand and held it in his own. "Will you be in trouble with your mother because of what happened today?"

I sighed. "I think she'll kill me."

"Even if you tell her it wasn't your fault? That Taeyong has been bullying you?"

"She won't believe me." I scoffed. "She hates me and will probably use this as an opportunity to throw more insults at me."

He looked at me worriedly. "Do you want to stay at my house? I don't want you getting hurt over this."

"She'll kill me even more if I don't go home." I laughed nervously. "I can't disobey her."

"Okay but you should come over straight away if something happens agreed?"

"Sure." I agreed.

"Can I perhaps have your number?" he looked nervous while asking this question which made me want to tease him.

"You want my number? Do you have a crush on me or something? You want to ask me on a date?"

"Hey!" he slapped my arm but his cheeks were tinged with pink. "I just want your number in case you need to contact me urgently or something, don't make up weird things."

I laughed. "I'm joking Minnie, you looked too cute so I wanted to tease you." 

"You're a cheeky one aren't you? I'm surprised you don't have any friends, you're pretty funny."

"It's because of the rumours." I mumbled and handed my phone to him.

"Ah the rumours." he nodded and didn't ask further. 

He entered his number into my phone and then held it out to me. I attempted to take my phone back but he held onto it tightly. I looked up at him with a confused expression.

"Promise me Jisung." he said seriously, still not letting go of the phone.

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me you'll tell me if someone says or does anything bad to you. Whether it's your mum, or Taeyong, or someone else. I don't care who it is, I'll make sure they know messing with you means messing with me."

"Minho we just met... I still don't understand why you're being so nice to me."

"Do I need a reason to be nice? I'd much rather be your friend than be friends with someone who just watches another person get bullied."

"I guess that makes sense."

He finally let me take my phone back and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"So you promise Jisungie?"

"I promise Minnie."


	7. Chapter 7

Jisung's POV

I didn't have time to announce my presence when I walked through the front door to my house before I was slapped across the face.

"You useless, poor excuse for a human being." my mother sneered. "I received a call today from school saying you were suspended. Why didn't you come home straight away?"

I stayed silent, holding onto my face and letting the tears flow down my cheeks.

"Answer me!" she slapped me again.

This time I fell to the floor with a cry and looked up at her desperately.

"Mum please-"

She kicked me.

"It hurts-"

She crouched down beside my hunched body and grabbed my hair. She forced me to stand and dragged me up the stairs to my room where she roughly shoved me onto the floor.

"Don't even think about leaving the house until next Monday. I forbid you from going out to buy food, or visiting your friends- oh wait, you don't have any friends." she laughed and slammed the door.

I curled up into a ball and sobbed. I didn't want to live in this house any more. I wanted to stay with Minnie and live happily ever after. Of course I knew this was impossible which made me feel so alone and empty.

I wanted to yell at my mother for treating me this way, but at the same time I couldn't. She was suffering from the loss of my father, which was all my fault...

If I didn't exist then my father would still be alive, maybe my parents would be laughing and drinking wine together, kissing under the moonlight and not having a care in the world.

I ruined everything.

I'm a terrible person and don't deserve to have Minho as my friend. He doesn't know what I did and he would hate me too if he found out.

I sat up and pulled my phone out my pocket. I contemplated deleting his contact from my phone, that way I wouldn't be tempted to text him and ask him to get me out of here.

I didn't want to disturb him, he had his own life, his own friends... I'm only a burden.

Instead of deleting his contact I threw my phone across the room where it coincidentally landed in the bin.

Well, I won't be needing it anyway. 

"So you promise Jisungie?"

"I promise Minnie."

I'm sorry I can't keep my promise Minnie, I'm such a bad friend.

I weakly pulled myself up onto my bed and started crying all over again. My eyes were aching and I knew I would have a headache afterwards but I couldn't seem to stop.

I ended up falling asleep and having nightmares filled with my mother and Taeyong beating me.

Wednesday was fairly uneventful - I spent most of my time lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. 

On Thursday I woke up at midday and decided to finish off any homework I had to do so I would be prepared for when I go back to school.

I jumped in my seat slightly when my mother came barging into the room with no warning.

She scoffed. "I don't know why you bother to study, you'll fail anyway."

I stared at her. "I'm just doing my homework so-"

"Whatever, you'll need to get a part-time job. You won't be going to college since you're too dumb so you might as well start working now."

"What?!"

"You heard me Han. On Monday after school you will go around asking local restaurants if they have a job available, understand?"

"But-"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

She grabbed me by my collar and pushed me off my chair onto the floor, my papers scattering around me.

"Yes I-I understand!" I whimpered.

She threw me one last scathing glance before storming out the room.

I hugged my knees to my chest and felt the need to cry rise up again. I was sick of crying though so instead I punched the wall and then held onto my fist which was throbbing from the impact.

"I hate you." I whispered quietly, glaring daggers at the closed door. "I wish you'd just die."

I stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before making up my mind to run away.

I threw some snacks into my backpack before grabbing my phone out the bin and then opening the window. The drop was a few metres but I would much rather injure myself from the fall than stay in this house.

I jumped out the window, wincing at the impact of my feet on the concrete. I straightened myself out and began running in the direction of the woods. I didn't care if Minho was there or not, I just wanted to be somewhere I could be away from the real world for a while.

By the time I reached the clearing I was sweating and out of breath. I didn't bother to take in the beauty of the clearing in the night time but instead made my way to the tree that held the tree house.

I huffed as I climbed up the tree and threw myself through the opening. 

"Jisungie?"

I squinted through the fading light to see Minho curled up in the corner covered in blankets.

"Minnie." I crawled over to him and laid beside him.

"I was so worried, you didn't text or call me. Are you okay?" he placed the blanket over me and huddled closer.

"I-I-" I burst into tears. "I'm not okay."

He held me and let me cry into his chest for what seemed like hours. He didn't complain though and soothingly stroked my back.

Eventually I calmed down and put my arms around him. "I wasn't allowed to leave the house, but I was so sick of everything so I ran away."

"You ran straight here?" he questioned.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"At least you're here now." he played with my hair. "I'm not letting you go."

"I don't want you to let me go." I mumbled.

He sat up and fumbled around for a bit before shoving his phone in my hands.

"Put your number in my phone." he ordered sternly. "I feel sad you didn't think you could text me and tell me you were having a hard time. Now I will make sure to text you everyday so I know you're safe."

I sighed and squinted into the bright light of the phone screen before tapping my number into his phone.

"Here." I handed it back to him.

A few seconds later I heard my phone ring and pulled it out to see Minho's contact flashing on my screen.

"Just making sure you didn't give me a fake number." he grinned.

I huffed and pulled him back down to cuddle.

"Do you want to stay at my house tonight?" he asked.

"If you don't mind." I looked at him with wide eyes. "Won't your mum mind?"

"I can sneak you in." he grinned like a boy who was planning to sneak out with his friends during the night. "It'll be fine."


	8. Chapter 8

Jisung's POV

"Quick quick." Minho ushered me inside his house. "Stay quiet."

"Minho is that you?" a lady's voice called.

"Yeah mum." Minho answered and then pushed me towards the stairs.

I bounded up the stairs two at a time as quickly as I could and waited at the top for Minho. I could hear him and his mother talking but I wasn't sure exactly what they were talking about.

A minute later Minho ran up the stairs holding an assortment of snacks.

"Is your mum not mad about you being suspended?" I asked curiously as we entered his room.

"She was at first but then I explained why I did what I did. I hope everything will be sorted when Mr Park looks at the CCTV footage." he gestured for me to sit on the bed.

I nodded and sat down, not bothering to tell him there's no way the school would side with us when Taeyong's parents held all the power due to the money they had.

"Nice room." I commented. It was simple with only a desk, a double bed, a few toys and a wardrobe, but it looked homely. 

"Thanks, I guess." he laughed through his nose and then pointed to the snacks he had laid on his desk. "Hungry?"

I nodded eagerly and stood beside him. "I brought some snacks too if you wanna share them?"

"You keep them." he said while picking out a packet of gummy bears. "You're my guest so you can eat whatever is in my house."

I picked up a tube of Pringles and sat back on the bed next to him. I moaned when the flavour exploded on my tongue, it had been so long since I'd eaten my favourite type of crisps.

Minho stared at me with a gummy bear halfway to his mouth.

"What?" I mumbled through a large mouthful that had filled my cheeks up.

"You moaned... er never mind." he tipped up the bag and let the bears fall into his mouth.

"What are you thinking?" I rolled my eyes.

I placed the half empty tube on the floor and leaned back on my hands.

He held a gummy in front of my face and waved it about. I leaned forward to take it between my teeth but he moved it further away every time I got closer.

"Hey!" I whined and grabbed his wrist to that I could hold him still and eat the gummy.

"You looked so desperate for the sweet." he laughed and then fixed his eyes on my hand which was still holding onto him. "What happened to your hand?"

I glanced at it and freed his wrist. "Oh, I punched a wall..."

He stood up. "Wait here, I'll wrap it up for you."

"You don't have t-" he ignored my protest and walked out the room.

I took this as my chance to look at the photo frames on his desk. One of them was most likely of him and his parents and the other was of three boys, probably Minho, Felix and Chan.

"Cute." I muttered as I traced my finger over the younger version of Minho.

"Sit." Minho's voice startled me. He had silently re-entered the room and sat on the bed.

I sat next to him and let him bandage my hand up.

"Why does it seem as if every time I'm here you're fixing me up?"

"Because I am." he pursed his lips. "You should be more careful instead of unnecessarily injuring yourself by punching a wall."

"I was mad."

"You could have yelled into your pillow or punched your bed." he raised an eyebrow.

"It's not as satisfying." I pouted.

He finished wrapping my hand and placed a quick kiss on it before letting me go.

I blushed. "Do you always kiss your friend's hands or something?"

"No." he put the remaining bandages on his desk.

"Oh." I didn't push him further since I wasn't sure how friends act around each other.

"Want to watch a movie on my phone?"

"Sure."

He took a bunch of pillows from the head of the bed and put them at the bottom before getting a blanket out from his wardrobe. He laid down and placed his phone on the pillows.

"Lay down." he commanded and patted the spot next to him.

I laid next to him and placed my head on my hand so that I could see the screen.

"I'm going to choose..." he trailed off and stared at me while he was deep in thought. "A horror movie."

"Isn't that such a cliché thing to watch at a sleepover? Eh whatever though, I never get scared."

Those words backfired on me throughout the entire movie. Minho had chosen to watch The Conjuring 2 and I didn't realise how terrifying it was. I spent most of the time latched onto Minho's arm while screaming into the pillow so his mother wouldn't hear me.

"You never get scared huh?" he smirked once the movie ended. I was partly hidden behind his shoulder and refused to let go of him.

"You're actually evil!" I whisper-yelled at him. "That movie was most definitely one of the scariest I've ever watched."

He attempted to move but I pinned him down by his arm. 

"Don't leave me." I whined. "I'm scared."

He scoffed. "Can we move to the top of the bed first at least before you prevent me from moving?"

I lightened my grip just enough for him to drag me to the top of the bed and then pull the duvet over us. He laid on his back while I laid on my side and put one leg over his.

"You're heavy Jisungie." he whined and struggled underneath me.

That only made me grin evilly and put half my torso on top of his and my head on his shoulder.

"You're comfy though." I sighed in satisfaction and wrapped my arm around his waist.

"You're so clingy like a koala." he groaned. "Kinda cute though."

I lifted my head to look at his face. "I'm cute?"

He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. "I meant annoying."

"How did you accidentally say cute instead of annoying?" I placed my head back down.

"It happens, shut up and go to sleep."

"Whatever you say Minnie." I closed my eyes with a smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight cutie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know in the comments if you're okay with sensual scenes (not smut, but like kisses). I will go by the majority for the next chapter!  
> Edit: I realised this sounded a bit weird, what I meant was I get the feeling some people would not expect any kissing due to the description of the book and I didn't really plan to write any of those scenes until the end BUT if you guys are okay with it... I'll start at the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Jisung's POV

I woke up in a cold sweat and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Minho asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"That stupid movie gave me nightmares." I complained.

He shifted so that I was lying on my back and he was leaning over me.

"Will this help?" he whispered before gently placing kisses all over my face.

I felt my stomach erupt with butterflies and held my breath until I couldn't take it any more.

"Min-Minnie stop." I stuttered and pushed him away weakly.

"Why?" he asked softly.

In the dim morning light I could see his hurt expression as he gazed down at me.

"You're making me feel... things." I blushed.

"You make me feel things too." he whispered back.

I stared up at him, feeling my heartbeat increase with every second.

His gaze flickered to my lips before moving back to my eyes.

"May I?" he searched my eyes for any signs of hesitation.

I nodded and squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I felt him move slightly and barely had time to process the sensation of his breath gently hitting my mouth before his lips touched mine.

His lips felt so soft, just like I'd imagined them. They tasted faintly of fruity lip balm and were moving slowly with my inexperienced lips. I felt as if I'd been to heaven and back with the bliss spreading from my lips to the tips of my fingers and all the way through my body.

I opened my eyes briefly to see his eyelids closed so I quickly shut my eyes once again to ensure I wouldn't be caught with my eyes open.

He didn't try to force his tongue into my mouth, instead he remained gentle until the moment he pulled away with an audible gasp. Our eyes locked as we panted slightly and fought to catch our breath.

"How was it?" he asked shyly.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Good enough for me to want to do it again?"

Without warning he swooped back down and joined our lips together once again. This time was rougher and more passionate, as if we were fighting for dominance with our mouths. One of his hands found its way into my hair and played with it lightly.

"Jisung." he said breathlessly as he pulled away.

"Yeah?" I said equally as breathless.

"You're not just letting me kiss you because you're scared to lose me as your friend if you refuse are you?"

"What? No!" I denied in a shocked tone. "I-I want to kiss you."

"Really?" his smile returned. "I was wondering if it was only me with these thoughts."

He laid on his back so we were laying side by side staring at the ceiling.

"Do you think you can sleep now?"

"Huh?"

"You woke up from a nightmare remember?" he chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." I admitted sheepishly. "You distracted me."

"That was my goal." he pecked my cheek. "Turn around, I'll hug you from the back."

I turned my back to him and felt him place his arms around me and nestle his head into my neck.

"Sweet dreams." he hummed.

Next thing I knew it was morning and Minho's alarm was blaring loudly.

"Minnie." I groaned. "Your alarm."

Minho leaned backwards to whack his alarm and then resumed his position.

There was a knock on the door. "Minho! Breakfast!"

"Okay mum!" he yelled back and pushed me so that I rolled onto the floor.

I stayed silent until I saw his head appear over the side of the bed.

"Sorry." he said sheepishly. "I panicked and thought she was going to walk in."

I sat up and put on a mock angry face before crossing my arms. "My body hurts from hitting the floor!"

"Aww does poor Jisungie's body hurt?" he lifted me back onto the bed. "Let me help you with that."

He startled tickling me and I let out a shriek before slapping one hand to my mouth and using the other hand to attempt to try to stop him from tickling me.

"St-stop Minho! I c-can't breathe!" I laughed and kicked my legs wildly.

He stopped tickling and grinned down at me. "We need to figure out a way to get you out the house without my mum noticing."

"How about you go eat breakfast and I'll come up with a plan?" I booped his nose with my finger.

"Aight I'll bring you some food too, don't make too much noise!" he climbed off the bed and shot me a wink before walking out and closing the door quietly. 

I laid back with my hands behind my head and looked up at the ceiling. Just like the last time I came to Minho's house I felt like I was in a dream once again.

Then I sat up suddenly, making myself dizzy for a few seconds.

"Last night..." I slowly touched my lips with my fingers. "Did we... kiss?"

I chuckled softly and closed my eyes, trying to remember the feeling of his lips against mine.

Suddenly I heard shouting and the door handle turned. I quickly rolled back onto the floor and hid myself next to the bed.

"Mum! I'll bring it to you!" I heard Minho shout and the sound of running feet on stairs.

"Could you also pack the breakfast up? I want to eat it outside." I heard his feet inside the room, the sound of him picking something up and then moving towards the door.

"Sure." I couldn't see his mother's face but I'm pretty sure she had on a confused expression.

The door closed and I peeked up to see him holding a hand to his heart and breathing heavily.

"Holy crap I thought she was going to find you." he groaned.

"What happened?" I raised an eyebrow and massaged my shoulder that had hit the floor.

"She was going to collect my laundry and I didn't know if you were hiding or in plain sight..."

I giggled. "This is kinda fun."

"It's not fun, she'll kill me if she finds out you stayed here without me asking her." he rolled his eyes and flopped belly first onto the bed. He shuffled forward with his arms until his face was right in front of mine.

"Your morning face is cute." he said and then placed his lips on mine.

So we did kiss last night, I hadn't imagined or dreamed it. I smiled into the kiss which made him pull away and give me a questioning look.

"I'm just happy." I answered his unspoken question. "About you, about us, life feels so good right now."

"Me too Hannie, me too."


	10. Chapter 10

Jisung's POV

"It's Friday so we could go to the cinema, eat at a restaurant or a café, go to the park... you pick." Minho said as he changed his clothes.

"I heard a cat café opened up recently not far from here." I told him.

"You want to go there?" he fixed his hair while looking in the mirror.

"Yeah, I like cats." I grinned.

"Cool sounds like a deal. I'll ask my mum if you can stay over until Monday before we leave, then we can sneak out and come back later as if you were never here."

I nodded and stood next to him to comb my fingers through my hair.

"You know what I noticed last night?" he looked at my reflection in the mirror. "Your hair is super soft, you've gotta tell me what shampoo you use."

"I don't use any special shampoo, actually I can't even remember the brand name..."

He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He sniffed at my hair before laying his head on my shoulder.

"You smell delicious." he growled and placed kisses on my shoulder and neck.

I closed my eyes and rolled my head to the side to give him better access. I let out a moan as he started to nibble and suck on my skin.

"Seems like I've found the sweet spot."

I opened my eyes to see him smirking at me in the mirror. 

I blushed a deep red and pushed him away.

"Someone's shy." he smirked.

"I'm sure you'd react the same way if I did it to you." I grumbled and picked up my bag.

"Do you want to test out that theory?" he bit his lip with a grin and moved his head to the side. "Go ahead."

"N-no!" I stuttered and hit him lightly. "Not now."

"Aww." he pouted.

"You're embarrassing me." I covered my face with both my hands. "Can we go already?" 

"Fine." he laughed. "Let me just check and see where my mother is."

He opened the door. "Mum?" he called.

"Yeah?" her voice was close.

"Oh crap crap crap go back inside." he hissed and pushed me lightly. I stepped backwards and he closed the door slightly with him outside.

"I'm going out now." I heard him say.

"Here's the food you asked for. Also I contacted Felix and Chan's parents, I know you were close to them before we moved. I asked if they wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow, is that okay with you?"

"That's great!" he replied in an excited tone. "Is it okay if I have a friend sleeping over this weekend?" 

"Sure Min, have a good day alright? See you later."

A few seconds passed and I heard a door close.

"Come on." Minho opened the door and grabbed my hand.

I followed him silently and let out the breath I'd been holding when we left the house.

"How about we go to the tree house first and eat breakfast, then we can go to the cat café." he suggested.

I nodded in reply, a nagging feeling tugging at my brain but I tried to ignore it. At least, I tried to ignore it until Minho noticed my troubled expression.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he squeezed my hand.

"I heard your mum saying she invited Felix and Chan around tomorrow."

He nodded. "Yeah, you can finally meet them."

"What if they hate me?" I looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm scared."

His expression softened. "They won't hate you, trust me. I'm sure they'll love you."

"Maybe they've heard about the rumour and will make fun of me." I said sadly. "Maybe I should just go home-"

"Jisung." he stopped walking and placed his hands on either side of my face. "Listen to me okay? I won't let any friend of mine get bullied and if Chan and Felix say anything nasty to you I'll make sure they know I won't put up with that."

"Really?" I felt a warm feeling spread throughout my body.

"You should know that already, but anyway I'm 100% sure you'll love them and they'll love you."

"Okay." I smiled and he moved his hands from my face. "I hope so."

"You worry too much Jisungie, not everyone is like Taeyong or your mum."

"I know but I'm yet to meet nice people. I'm at that point where I expect to be judged negatively wherever I go."

"You met me didn't you?" he said softly. "I can see the good in you, and other good people will too. Anyone who treats you badly are either jealous or just lack empathy."

"You're way too wise for your age." I chuckled.

We ate our breakfast at the tree house before relaxing for a while and then walking to the cat café.

"Oh my gosh, they're so cute!" Minho gushed as a cat jumped onto his lap and rubbed its face on his sweater. 

I took out my phone and snapped a photo of him smiling and stroking the cat. This was something I wanted to remember forever.

I put my phone down as a different cat came up to me and rubbed itself on my leg.

"Hi there." I stroked its back before picking it up and placing it on my lap. "What's your name?"

"Her name is Mochi." one of the servers said as he passed by.

"And his name is Zeus." he looked at the cat Minho was holding.

"Hello Mochi, you're a softie aren't you?" I said as she purred and pushed her head into my hand.

I looked up at Minho and realised he was recording me talking to the cat. 

He looked up at me and grinned. "I couldn't resist."

I picked my phone back up. "Let's take a photo together with the cats."

We took three photos in total, my favourite being the one where Minho turned his head to kiss my cheek and I had a shocked expression.

"Send them to me, I want to use one of them for my lock screen." he said.

I sent them to him before setting my favourite as my lock screen so we could have matching backgrounds. 

"I want to buy us a polaroid camera so I can put photos of you in my wallet, on my wall, carry them in my bag..." he trailed off while thinking.

We'd finished off in the cat café and were walking towards one of the local parks.

"I wouldn't be able to put them on my wall but I'll carry them everywhere I go." I told him.

"Why can't you put them on your wall?" he inquired.

"My mum would just rip them down, she doesn't know I have a friend..."

"That's messed up, I refuse to believe whatever you did that sparked this rumour and the hatred from your mum is that bad."

I shrugged. "Apparently it is bad, I don't remember much though, only what people keep telling me."

"Jisung stay at my house." he said suddenly.

"I am staying at your house though?"

"I mean forever." he said seriously. "I have a bad feeling one day I'll be at school and you won't be there, then the teacher will announce that you're dead."

"Minnie... she won't kill me."

We arrived at the park and sat down on the swings.

"You never know Jisungie, I don't want to take the risk."

We began to swing.

"If things get really bad then I'll promise I'll tell you straight away." I tried to make him drop the subject.

He seemed satisfied as he grinned mischievously. "Let's see who can swing the highest, the loser has to buy ice cream!"


	11. Chapter 11

Jisung's POV

Saturday came by quickly and it was drawing closer to the time Minho's friends would arrive.

The sound of the doorbell ringing made my anxieties rush back all at once. I looked at Minho who looked back at me with a grin on his face.

"They're here." he said softly with excitement laced in his voice.

I nodded and took a deep breath. Fake it till you make it right? I wasn't going to let them know how nervous I was.

"Minho! Felix and Chan are here! I'm sending them up!" his mother yelled up the stairs.

Minho squeezed my hand before getting off the bed and opening the door.

"YOU KNOW! I KNOW! LEE KNOW!" they both yelled at the same time and engulfed Minho in a hug.

"Hey guys." Minho laughed. "Come in."

"Who's this?" Felix came over to me. "He's cute, your boyfriend?"

I blushed profusely and ducked my head. "I'm Jisung."

"Nice to meet ya Jisung." Chan said. "I'm Chan, the goof over there is Felix."

I nodded and bit my lip.

"What's new guys?" Minho resumed his position next to me on the bed.

"Eh not much, just trying to get through school." Felix sat at the foot of the bed while Chan sat at Minho's desk.

"I heard from Jisung that you're pretty popular." Minho raised an eyebrow.

"You go to our school? How come I've never seen you before?" Felix asked in his deep voice.

"I'm not in your class, my home room teacher is Mr Park."

"Oh the class with Taeyong and Yuta? Damn I feel sorry for you bro."

That piqued my interest. "You know about Taeyong?"

Chan scoffed. "Of course! Who doesn't? That bugger is all cocky thanks to his parent's influence. I've been wanting to land my fist in his face ever since I found out he existed."

"I've only been into school one day and I want to murder him already." Minho agreed.

"We could join forces and take him down." I said half-jokingly.

"Sounds good mate, if he ever gives ya trouble don't hesitate to let me know aight?" Felix winked. "Chan and I will come to your rescue."

"Will do." I already felt comfortable around these two, I had no idea why I felt nervous before. I should have known Minho wouldn't make friends with nasty people.

"Actually he's already given Jisung trouble." Minho piped up. "Taeyong has been bullying him over some rumour that I don't know about."

I froze, afraid that they'd heard the rumour too.

"Nah that's not cool, on Monday I'll have a word with him and if he don't back down I'll make sure he gets a beating he won't forget." Chan nodded.

"Don't ya worry Jisung, we got your back." Felix slapped my back in a friendly manner.

"Thank you and I, er-" I coughed. "I like your accent."

"Cheers mate."

"Boys! Dinner!"

Dinner with Felix's, Chan's and Minho's families was the best dinner I'd ever experienced in my entire life. There wasn't even a second of awkward silence and Chan cracked the funniest jokes that even made me choke on my food a few times.

"I forgot how to throw a boomerang the other day, then it came back to me."

Silence.

"Caw caw caw." Minho mocked him.

"I thought it was pretty funny." Chan grumbled and we all laughed hard at his embarrassed expression.

"It was lovely seeing ya Jisung, you and Lee Know should come over sometime for a barbie, whaddya say Felix?" Chan nudged Felix as we stood in the doorway saying our farewells.

"Hells yeah! Your parents do the best barbies." Felix agreed.

"It was nice meeting you too Chan and Felix." I held out my hand for them to shake but I was instead pulled into a hug.

"Give us a shout if you see us in the school corridors aight? See ya mates." they waved and walked away with their parents.

"So? What do you think of them?" Minho grinned as he closed the door and we walked back up to his room.

"They're so much cooler than I imagined. They're so nice too, I haven't had that much fun in forever."

"I told you you'd love them!"

I suddenly thought of something. "I left all my homework and school uniform at my house, I'll have to go there early Monday morning to collect it before school."

"Won't your mum be there?"

"Yeah but I can't go into school wearing this..." I gestured to my casual clothes.

He tapped his foot. "I will go inside the house with you, just in case..."

I nodded in agreement. "Why do Felix and Chan call you Lee Know?"

"Oh that? It was a nickname that stuck when I was younger because whenever they asked me a question I always knew the answer and they thought I was a know-it-all at school."

I slapped his arm playfully. "Dude stop lying."

"I'm not lying!" he widened his eyes at me. "I'm always top of my class."

I stared back at him. "Wait really? You're a smart ass? I never would have guess-"

I broke off when he lunged at me and tackled me to the floor. I squealed as he straddled my hips and tickled my sides ruthlessly.

"What did you say? You didn't think I was clever?" he growled.

"Min- ah- st-stop!" I laughed breathlessly.

"You're going to pay for your words mister." he shoved his face into my neck which made me screech louder.

"Min- Minnie!"

He stopped tickling me, making me sigh in relief but he kept his face in my neck and started to suck.

I placed my hands on either side of his waist and closed my eyes. I could feel the place where he was sucking start to throb and was sure I would see a dark purple mark on my neck when he was finished.

He pulled away and shot me a satisfied smirk. "How generous am I? Leaving you a little present."

"Minnie!" I whined and touched my neck. "People are going to notice."

"So?" he stood up and laid on the bed.

I huffed and looked in the mirror before walking over to the bed.

He looked at me as I slowly approached him like a predator stalking its prey.

"Sungie what are you doing..?" he attempted to scramble away but I straddled his waist and pinned his arms above his head.

"Revenge." I kissed my way around his jaw before moving down to his neck. I licked at a spot briefly before growling and sinking my teeth into him and shaking my head like I was a lion biting into a chunk of meat.

He whined and struggled against my grip, which only made me want to do this more. I pulled away briefly before nibbling and sucking on his skin. He gave up struggling and instead let out small moans, his body arching upwards slightly.

When I'd finished his face was flushed and his eyes were begging me for more, much different from the usual confident Minho I knew. Instead of giving into his seductive gaze I rolled off him and smiled to myself.

"You tease!" he cried out and pulled at his hair in frustration. "Can't you continue?"

"Nope." I chuckled. "The next time I'm in that position I'll make sure you're covered in love bites, but I don't think right now is the best time."

He pouted and hugged onto my arm. "Jisungie..."

I turned my head and pecked his lips. "Another time, Minnie."


	12. Chapter 12

Jisung's POV

Monday came quicker than I'd hoped and before I knew it I was walking to my house hand in hand with Minho.

I was quieter than usual because I was too nervous to think about anything over than what my mother would say or do to me.

I opened the front door as quietly as possible and ushered Minho up the stairs in front of me.

"Is she even home? Surely she would have heard you opening the front door." Minho pointed out.

"Dunno, maybe she's setting up a death trap or something." I muttered as I stripped off my shirt and trousers.

Minho shamelessly stared at me while I changed my clothes, not even having the decency to look embarrassed that I'd caught him gawking.

"What?" he asked when he noticed my raised eyebrows. "I can't help but look when I see something I like."

I blushed furiously and shoved my homework into my bag. "Come on you dork, let's go before my mum appears."

We sprinted down the stairs and out the door, thankfully my mother was no where to be seen and we walked to school feeling slightly better.

Of course the first person to greet us when we walked into the classroom was no other than Lee Taeyong.

"Have a nice suspension boys?" he smirked.

"It was great thanks." Minho replied sarcastically. "Nice to be away from your annoying ass."

"Jisung." Mr Park called me from the doorway. "Follow me please, and bring your bag."

I shot Minho a confused look and he looked at me worriedly.

"I'll be fine." I muttered to him as I walked past and followed Mr Park.

"Did you check the CCTV footage?" I asked him as we walked down the corridor together.

"We'll talk about that some other day, right now I just have to send the new boy in the direction of the classroom and get down to business about you and your mother."

"There's another new kid?" I ignored the last past of his sentence before I realised what he had said. "Wait, what about me and my mother?"

A red haired boy stood in front of Mr Park's office and glanced up at me shyly before looking away.

"Right, our classroom is the second door on the left. Wait outside for me, I won't be long." Mr Park told him before turning to me and lowering his voice. 

"Your mother told me you ran away from home, she's currently inside my office crying her eyes out Jisung how could you do that to her?"

I scoffed. "Crying? She's probably crying of happiness."

He opened the door to reveal my mother sniffing into a handkerchief. 

Her eyes widened when she saw me. "Jisung! I was so worried!" she stood and immediately hugged me.

I stood frozen, unsure of how to react.

She pulled away and placed her hands on my shoulders. "I searched everywhere for you... was it because of the part-time job? Is that why you ran away?"

I shrugged off her hands. "You know why I ran away."

Fresh tears ran out her eyes, wow she was a good actress. 

She began to have a coughing fit and held onto the chair for support while using the other hand to cover her mouth.

"Ever since you left I've been feeling really sick and I would really appreciate it if you came home to look after me. I won't ask for much, I just want to be near my son." she smiled at me.

I was conflicted. It had been so long since I'd seen that smile and it was making me want to believe her words.

"O-okay?" I answered but it sounded like a question. "I'll look after you."

Her eyes lit up. "Thank you Jisung, thank you so much." she coughed.

I looped her arm in mine and looked at Mr Park. "I'll be back tomorrow, I guess?"

He nodded. "I'll sign you out for a family emergency, look after your mother Jisung - you've only got one."

I hummed in response and helped my mother walk since her coughs were so strong that they racked her whole body.

"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" I asked her as we walked out the school building.

"That would be lovely." she replied.

I was happy she wasn't shouting at me for once, even though I wanted to be with Minho... I also wanted to strengthen the relationship I had with my mother. If me running away is what it took for her to realise she was in the wrong... I'd forgive her.

We reached the house and I led her to the living room so that she could sit while I cooked something up. I put down my backpack next to the couch and headed to the kitchen.

"Jisung." she called out.

"Yeah mum?" I turned back.

"I left my phone in your room, could you get it for me please?" she said weakly.

I nodded and made my way up the stairs. As soon as I stepped in my room I noticed something different, except I couldn't quite place my finger on exactly what was different.

I searched around for her phone but couldn't find it anywhere. 

Was it under the bed? I ducked down and used my arm to stretch out and feel around for the object.

"Mum, I can't find your phone anywhere!" I yelled and stood up.

I was about to exit my room when I noticed what was different. I turned around slowly and stared, suddenly feeling nauseous.

Was that what I thought it was?


	13. Chapter 13

Jisung's POV

A lock on the window. That's the thing that had changed in my room. My mother had put a lock on my bedroom window.

The door slammed behind me, making me jump out of my skin before running over and attempting to open it.

It was locked. She'd also put a lock on my door. How did I not notice when I came earlier?

"It was too easy to fool you." I could almost see her smirk through the door. "Even your teacher was a complete idiot, all I had to do was turn on the waterworks and spill a few lies and he believed me. Now that you're back here you have no chance of escaping."

I shook the door handle. "Open the door!"

"You're never leaving your room again. You disobeyed me and now you'll waste away until you die."

"Mum please let me out!" I begged, feeling desperation rise up. "I'll go get a part time job, I won't run away again, just please let me out!"

"I won't believe another word that comes out your filthy mouth Han. Your life is meaningless anyway, once I've got rid of you I can finally live in peace."

I stopped trying to open the door and instead backed away from the door and sat on my bed.

"My phone." I suddenly remembered I could ring Minho. "Where's my bag... oh."

I had left my bag in the living room since I thought I was going to be making food for my mother.

"I'm so stupid." I dug my nails into my palms and grit my teeth together. "Why did I think I could trust her?"

The one time I thought I had a chance of a happy life with my mother, it turned out to be a lie. How could life be so cruel?

I thought of Minho who was in school right now, probably wondering where I was. Would he come looking for me? Surely he'd notice if I don't turn up at school or don't try and contact him.

I was desperate enough to try anything right now, which is why I was willing to attempt telepathic communication. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine myself standing next to Minho in class.

"Minho." I whispered with the image of me standing next to him and whispering in his ear still in my mind. "If you can hear me I want you to know that I'm locked in my room and can't escape. I don't have my phone with me so you won't receive any calls or texts from me. Please come rescue me."

I opened my eyes, the image vanishing as I was brought back to reality.

"Wow I'm pathetic." I laughed bitterly. 

I stared blankly at the window for a good minute before going over to examine the lock. A key was needed to open it, and it looked too strong for me to break it.

Desperate times call for desperate measures though right?

I picked up my desk chair and aimed for the window glass. Instead of breaking the glass, the chair bounced right off and hit my mouth.

I dropped the chair onto my foot and cursed. I hopped around before falling onto the floor and covering my mouth with my hand. My lip was throbbing and I could taste blood on my tongue.

I screamed in frustration, tears from the pain building up in my eyes.

"Why now?" I whimpered. "I just made a friend and then everything went south."

Is this the universe's way of telling me I don't deserve to live? I don't deserve to have friends and be happy?

I heard the doorbell ring and immediately shot up off the floor.

Was it Minho?

I pressed my ear against the door and tried to hear voices.

It didn't sound like Minho but either way I was going to try and get their attention.

"HELP!" I yelled as loud as I could and banged continuously on the door. "HELP ME!"

I was silent for a few seconds before I continued yelling.

The door opened, causing me to fall backwards. I stared upwards in fear as my mother's red, angry face glared down at me.

"Shut the hell up!" she yelled and grabbed my throat. "Don't ever do that again, understand?!"

I clawed at her hand which was around my throat and I spat in her face. Droplets of blood from my burst lip hit her skin.

She tightened her grip and she yelled nonsense in my ear. My eyes rolled back from the lack of oxygen, I had no more energy to fight.

She suddenly let go, making me draw in deep, raspy breaths. I held a hand to my throat and focused my vision on a spot on the floor in an attempt to calm myself.

"Pathetic." she drawled. 

"I-" my dry throat prevented me from speaking clearly.

I coughed up some saliva and cleared my throat. "I know you are."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"You're pathetic." I spat at her. "I don't see what dad ever saw in you."

She slapped me.

"I loved your father very much." she hissed. "I would never treat someone I love this way. I hate you, you're a complete waste of space."

"I hate you too." I cried out, my heart was in so much pain.

"At least we're on the same page." she stood and walked back to the door.

I attempted to crawl to the door before she could close it but I could hardly move. She'd slammed and locked it by the time I'd moved half a metre. 

Fear, pain, helplessness consumed by body as I sobbed loudly. I curled my legs up to my chest and hugged them to my body while the tears continued to flow.

I was half hoping Minho would come bursting through the door, pull me into his chest and tell me everything was going to be okay. Hours passed and still no sign of Minho, the light faded along with my dwindling hope.

I grew stiff sitting on the floor in the same position so I shuffled on my knees towards my bed and pulled myself up.

I shoved my head into my pillow and blacked out. I was completely exhausted.


	14. Chapter 14

**Jisung's POV**

Days passed and still no sign of hope. I was a mess - mentally and physically.

My clothes stuck to my body with sweat, my hair was all over the place and I had finished my hidden supply of food. If someone was to see me now, they'd be disgusted.

I wouldn't blame them, I was disgusted with myself too.

"Jisungie are you okay? Please reply, I'm so worried about you." 

I lifted my head and looked at the door.

"The teacher told me you are looking after your mother. I hope this is true and that you're actually fine. You're not dead are you? I think I'm going to go crazy. I miss you." 

My mother stopped talking and let out a loud laugh. "Who's this Minnie that keeps sending you messages Han?"

My heartbeat sped up and I stumbled towards the door.

"Give me my phone." I begged.

"Ah I've unlocked your phone, how predictable... using your birthday as your pass code." she scoffed. "I'm going to reply to Minnie and say you're doing just fine."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare message him!" I shouted and banged on the door.

"What's the fun in that?" I heard her footsteps fade away.

I punched the door until my knuckles were bleeding, I was too mad to feel the pain.

When I'd calmed down I slumped my back against the door and slid to the floor.

"Minho." I whimpered. "Please save me."

It was a surprise I hadn't run out of tears because of all the crying I'd been doing recently.

"I don't know how much longer I can go on." I sobbed. "I don't want to stay in here until I die... two weeks ago I wouldn't have cared and would have accepted my fate but now I have you... my reason for living."

I sighed. "You're Lee Know, apparently you're super clever and know the answers to everything. Well right now I need you to know I need your help."

"I miss you Minnie...  _but you can't hear me."_ I whispered the final part and stared at my hands that were covered in blood.

I heard a loud knock on the front door but didn't react. The only thought that flitted through my mind was why they couldn't ring the bell like everyone else.

Then I heard shouting. Was the police here? Did Minho notice it wasn't me replying to his texts?

"Jisung!"

Was I hallucinating? The voice was vaguely familiar, but it wasn't Minho's.

"Jisung are you there?!" the voice shouted again.

I stood up shakily. "I'm- I'm in here!" I shouted back.

"Here's in here." a different voice said.

I stepped back as the door unlocked and I stared at the two people in front of me - one familiar and the other unfamiliar.

"Felix?" 

I couldn't believe my eyes, had he come to rescue me? I looked at the other person with a frown. Where was Chan?

Felix noticed my confused expression and rushed to explain. "This is Hyunjin, one of my friends. Minho is downstairs with everyone else trying to knock some sense into your mum."

"Everyone else?" I repeated.

Before he could answer, a stampede ran up the stairs and crowded into my room.

"Jisung!" Minho gasped out and wrapped his arms around me.

I tried to push him away. "Min I'm gross right now, you might not want to touch me."

He held on tighter. "I don't care."

I relaxed and rested my head on his shoulder. "I missed you."

"I missed you more." he breathed out.

Chan clapped his hands to get our attention. "Yes yes I missed you too Jisung but can we save that for later? We should get out of here."

"What about my mum?" I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Let's just say... there's safety in numbers and she knows she won't be able to get through eight boys to you."

Yes that's right, the stampede that had run up the stairs consisted of six boys... plus there was Felix and Hyunjin.

"I leave school for a week and you come along with a bunch of new friends." I looked at Minho and laughed weakly.

He began to lead me out the door and down the stairs. "Well, they're actually Felix and Chan's friends from the other class... bar Jeongin."

"Who's Jeongin?"

He pointed to the red head, who I recognised to be the new kid that I'd seen when I walked with Mr Park to his office.

"Hi." he smiled shyly. "You can call me I.N if you want, Minho told me all about you."

"Good things I hope."

"What bad things would I say about you Ji?" Minho laughed. "Come on let's go to mine and we'll meet Chan and the others at his house later."

Minho informed Chan of our plans and the other boys left first as I insisted on grabbing my bag and my phone.

"I can buy you a new phone." Minho said but I shook my head and saw my mother glaring at us from the corner of the living room.

"Give me my phone." I demanded.

"I'll come for you Jisung, just you wait." she sneered and threw the object onto the ground.

"If you come for him I'll make sure you get locked up in prison." Minho retorted while I grabbed my phone.

"Come on." I took his hand and didn't bother to throw my mother one last glance before walking out quickly.

We walked in silence towards his house and once we arrived he immediately pulled out a fresh set of clothes and a towel from his wardrobe.

"Get yourself washed up, I'll wait here." he said gently and handed them to me.

I nodded and walked to his bathroom where I placed the towel and clothes onto the wash basin and started the shower.

I stripped off my dirty clothes and stepped under the running water with a satisfied sigh. I ran my fingers through my hair and watched as the water washed away all the blood, sweat and dirt before lathering up my body and hair and giving myself a proper cleanse. 

It felt like the water was washing away all the events of the past week and I'd step out as a new person. I finally felt safe - I had Minho by my side, I wouldn't have to deal with my mother... and I had a lot of new people to be introduced to.

All that sounded great except I had completely forgotten about my issues at school. Taeyong's face suddenly popped into my head and I groaned in frustration. How was I going to deal with him?

I dried myself off, pulled on Minho's clothes that smelt like him and walked back to his room.

"All clean?" he was lying on his side on the bed, waiting for my return.

"Yeah, I feel so much better now." I threw the dirty clothes into his laundry basket before lying beside him. 

I traced my fingers over his lips, his nose and then finally ran them through his hair.

"You look troubled." he said softly, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Just nervous." I sighed and laid back to look at the ceiling. 

"Nervous about what Ji?"

"About what will happen now that my mother is out the way... it's all unfamiliar to me. I don't know if I'll be able to get along with that huge group of people you brought to my house."

"Let's just say they're similar to Felix and Chan but slightly crazier... in a good way. They won't ostracise you just because you don't know how to act around them and if it gets too much you can always come to me."

I bit my lip. "Are you sure they're all friendly? One of them looked really scary... kinda like a bear."

Minho burst out laughing. "Ah... you mean Woojin? He's not scary Jisungie, once you see him smile you'll wonder why you ever thought that."

I hummed in response and turned back onto my side. 

"Thank you for saving me." I whispered and pushed my lips onto his.

He immediately responded by placing his hand on the back of my neck and pulling me closer. This kiss was much more urgent that the other ones we'd done in the past, but it still made me feel warm and fuzzy inside nonetheless. 

"You're welcome Jisungie." he said breathlessly as he pulled away. "No one takes away what's mine and gets away with it."

He stood up. "Come on, let's go to Chan's house. They're probably waiting for us."

I sat up dazedly, having not understood a single word he'd said except for one.

_Mine._

_I was his._


	15. Chapter 15

**Jisung's POV**

_"No one takes away what's mine and gets away with it."_

Those words were spinning around my head repeatedly. I didn't even realise Minho had been talking to me the entire time that we'd been walking to Chan's house.

"Jisung!" he poked my cheek in frustration. 

"Huh? What?" I looked at him blankly.

Ugh he looks so attractive with those wide eyes staring at me waiting for me to say something... wait, did I zone out?

"Sorry Minnie I was distracted." I admitted. "What did you say?"

"I was just telling you how Chan got into a fight with Taeyong last week when you weren't there... I literally just told you all the juicy gossip and you weren't listening?!"

"Mine." I replied dreamily. 

"Okay you've officially gone crazy." he sighed.

"Min, what are we?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that... but later, after we get back home from Chan's."

"I knew you'd rejec- what?" I finally came out from my daze and stared at him with my mouth open in shock. "You didn't just outright reject me?"

He put his mouth into a straight line and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why you'd think I'd reject you, but I want to talk about it when we're alone together at home."

"O-okay..." I looked away quickly and put a hand up to my burning hot cheek.

I immediately lifted my head when the smell of delicious food came floating towards us.

My stomach growled loudly. "I'm starving."

"I can imagine." Minho led us to a house and rang the doorbell.

Almost immediately the door opened to reveal Chan. "Welcome guys." 

"The smell coming off the barbie is making my mouth water." Minho complained.

Chan chuckled. "Help yourselves, everyone is seated outside."

We followed him outside and I sat next to Minho, opposite Jeongin.

"Jisung have you ever tried a barbecued lamb rib?" Changbin leaned around Minho to look at me.

"I don't think so..."

He pointed to a plate full of what I assumed was barbecued lamb ribs. 

"They're amazing, you should try them." he grinned.

I nodded and reached for a lamb rib. As soon as it entered my mouth the taste exploded on my tongue and I stared wide eyed at the rib in my hands as I chewed.

"Wow~" I said through a mouthful. "That's... wow, amazing."

Minho chuckled and filled my plate up with an assortment of barbecued meat.

"Did Minho tell you the wonderful story of what happened between Taeyong and I?" Chan asked me from the head of the table.

I shook my head, smiling slyly as Minho slumped back in his seat.

"I did tell him but he wasn't listening." Minho objected.

"Who listens to you though Min?" Hyunjin chuckled earning a glare from Minho.

We all laughed and then turned our attention to Chan when we cleared his throat.

"So it all started on a Wednesday afternoon, I was casually strolling along minding my own business-"

"Will you get to the damn point?" Woojin groaned. "Skip the back story."

"Sorry, I got carried away." Chan smiled sheepishly. "I saw Taeyong in the corridor on Wednesday as I was on the way to the canteen so I stopped him to have a word about how he was treating you."

He looked at me and I nodded for him to continue. 

"As soon as I mentioned your name he laughed and arrogantly leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. I really  _really_  wanted to punch his stupid face with that annoying smirk but I kept my cool as I was explaining how it wasn't very nice of him to bully you."

"Now the thing that made me lose my cool... is when he said, and I quote: 'I don't know or particularly care why you're asking me to stop bullying him but first of all nah I don't feel like leaving him alone and second of all I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing until he's dead.'"

Jeongin, who I guessed had not heard this story before, gasped dramatically. "That ass!"

"Indeed he is an ass I.N, and he got a good ass beating too." Chan grinned proudly. "I slammed my fist into his jaw, spit went flying and he looked like he was ready to kill me."

"Then Minho, who had been watching our interaction the entire time without announcing his presence the lil bugger, came up from behind Taeyong and grabbed his hair, making him screech loudly."

"We punched some sense into him, maybe raising his brain cell count to around 3 and then let him run away with his tail between his legs." Minho finished.

"Eyy you should have finished him off." Woojin slapped his hand to his head in frustration.

"I was saving him for you!" Chan threw his hands up in frustration. "Did you not tell me to keep Taeyong alive so you could swing a few punches?"

"Oh yeah..." Woojin smiled sheepishly and took a big bite of salad, mumbling incoherently. 

Minho was right... he really does look harmless when he smiles.

"They're not serious about killing Taeyong are they?" I whispered to Minho worriedly.

Minho shook his head with a laugh. "Nah, but they all want to have a go at beating him up."

Hours passed and it was completely dark by the time Minho and I got back to his house.

I waited in his room while he took a shower and I shamelessly stared at him once he came back into the room with dripping wet hair and only a towel wrapped around his waist.

He shook his head slightly to move the wet hair out of his eyes and then looked at me.

"Now... let's talk about who you are to me and what our relationship is."


	16. Chapter 16

Jisung's POV

"Let me stop you right there." I prevented him from opening his mouth again to speak. "First of all put on some damn pants because you're distracting me and secondly l want to talk to you about something else first."

Minho pouted but did as I asked and then sat beside me.

"When I was trapped in my house..." I began and took his hands in mine. "I regretted not telling you how grateful I was that you took my side over Taeyong's. Despite me looking all pathetic, you wanted to become my friend... and I'm really happy you did that. So... thank you."

"I saw something in you." he spoke quickly before I could continue. "From the moment our eyes met while I was standing at the front of the classroom, in my head I was screaming at how flustered you became. Everyone else held my gaze but you were different, and your shyness intrigued me."

"So you wanted to become my friend because I was shy?"

"No." he flicked my forehead. "Because I knew you were a kind person and I wanted to show that you didn't need to be afraid of me."

I hummed in response and watched as a water droplet trickled from his hair to his chin.

"And you didn't look pathetic." he said softly, making me move my eyes back to his. "Taeyong looked pathetic for putting you down, everyone watching looked pathetic for not saying something... you just let them take advantage of your kind heart. The way you were treated doesn't say anything about you or decrease your worth in any way, it speaks volumes for the others though."

His words made something flare up inside me. For the longest time I thought I deserved to be treated badly because I was worthless, but here Minho was telling me the opposite. I deserved to be treated like a human being.

He pulled me into a hug. "You think so little of yourself baby, I'm here to make sure you love and respect yourself."

"Baby?" I was floating on cloud nine from the nickname as it was the first time someone had ever said that to me.

"That's right." he whispered. "Will you officially be my boyfriend Jisungie?"

I wanted to scream and cry from happiness, I wanted to jump around the room from the rush his words gave me but instead I smiled at him with tear filled eyes. 

"Yes I'll be your boyfriend."

His face immediately broke out into a grin and he pushed me down so that I was lying with my back against the bed. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds, brushed his lips teasingly over mine and then kissed me passionately. 

Euphoria.

That was the word I could use to describe this moment. I was convinced I was invincible with his lips moving against mine, I was sure we could overcome everything together.

He moved to my neck where he sucked on every spot that his lips could reach. I moaned weakly underneath him, letting him put his mark onto me because finally I was officially his and he was officially mine.

The following week at school we stuck to each other like glue. This was our first whole week together at school which was pretty exciting for me. With Minho by my side I felt confident in standing up to Taeyong.

It was Friday midday when I told him to go onto the school field without me, as I would buy food from the canteen and bring it to him. He hesitantly agreed and I walked off with a smile on my face, planning to buy all his favourite foods.

With my arms full of snacks I made my way to our meeting spot but shortly before I reached it I saw Taeyong and Yuta standing with their arms crossed, blocking my path.

I cursed quietly and looked around for an escape route. Before I could comprehend what was happening, they had pounced on me and pinned me to the ground.

All the snacks scattered around us and I laid helplessly as Taeyong shoved his hand in my pocket.

He pulled out my phone and smirked.

"Nice lock screen loser, such a shame Minho isn't here to save you now isn't it?"

"Piss off Taeyong, didn't you learn your lesson when Chan and Minho beat your ass?" I spat at him.

He turned red from anger and lifted his fist to punch my face but before he could cause any harm he was thrown off me. 

Minho stood panting with a furious expression. 

"I thought I told you not to touch him." he growled at Taeyong.

Taeyong stood up and landed a punch on Minho's jaw. Minho stumbled back a few steps before he launched himself forward and slammed his fist into Taeyong's nose.

"Since you're still defending Han, I'm sure he hasn't told you about what he did yet has he?"

Blood dripped down from Taeyong's nose but he seemed determined. 

"I told you I don't want to hear it." Minho said.

Taeyong smirked and the words that left his lips next made bile rise to my throat and I let out a strangled cry.

He'd just revealed the one thing I didn't want Minho to know.


	17. Chapter 17

Jisung's POV

"He killed his father."

I slumped down.

The truth was out and now I was going to go back to being friendless.

Minho glanced at me and looked for confirmation. "Is this true?"

Tears threatened to spill out my eyes as I nodded.

"How?" he asked me.

I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. I was reminded of it everyday of my life and had been delusionally happy for a few weeks. Now I had to come back down to reality.

"Let him go." Minho glared at Yuta.

"Did you not hear what Taeyong said? He killed-"

"I heard what he said." he snapped. "Now let him go."

Yuta let go of my wrists and kicked my stomach, making me reel over in pain.

I vaguely processed the sound of flesh hitting flesh followed by Yuta's groan.

"Piss off." Minho growled.

"You'll regret that." Taeyong and Yuta ran off, leaving Minho and I alone.

"Jisung."

I looked up at Minho expecting to see a harsh, angry expression but instead his face was soft.

"I don't want to force you but can you tell me how your father died?"

"When I was a baby I was in the car with my parents, me being in the passenger seat in a baby car seat and my dad driving." I felt like I was entranced by his curious eyes as I spoke, making me spill the truth to him.

"I was crying, complaining and making a fuss. My parents were arguing, and my dad was trying to get me to stop crying while he was driving..." I started to breathe heavily as I relived the painful memory. "Our car hit another car and flipped over."

Tears were flowing freely now.

"My dad... my dad he died at the scene, my mother was injured but not too badly, and I survived with only a few scratches." I choked out. "My mother blames me for his death, if only I hadn't been so noisy... my dad would have been concentrating on the road and not focusing his attention on me. I killed him."

"Oh baby..." Minho crouched beside me.

I sobbed into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

He soothingly rubbed circles on my back. "Is this the rumour you didn't want me to hear about? Did you really think I'd leave you for that?"

"Y-yes..." my voice was muffled from the sobs.

"Silly Jisungie." he chuckled. "That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard in my entire life."

I looked up at him with blurry eyes. "Everyone else... they think I'm a murderer or that I don't deserve to live... Taeyong might have exaggerated the rumours but still... it's true that it was partly my fault."

His eyes were soft and full of love as he gazed down at me. "Well you know what? Everyone else is stupid. You're not even capable of hurting a fly. It's not your fault, it's your mother's fault for putting these false ideas in your head... you were only a baby for goodness sake!"

He wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed my forehead gently. "I'm here with you forever okay? You can't get rid of me that easily."

I choked out a laugh at his cheeky grin. "You're an angel."

I flinched when I heard shouting coming near us. Minho and I turned our heads to see Chan with Taeyong in a headlock.

"Way to go Chan!" Minho cheered.

"I told ya not to mess with my friends, did you think I was joking?"

Yuta was in a boxing match with Hyunjin and Jeongin, but mostly Hyunjin.

"Not so brave now that Jisung has people on his side now are you?" Hyunjin glared and sent a well-aimed kick at Yuta's knee.

"You're bullying!" Yuta whined out.

"You get what you give." Seungmin said. He was standing with his arms crossed and enjoying the fight from a distance.

I could see two more people approaching which appeared to be Woojin and Changbin.

Yuta noticed them and immediately panicked. "Let's stop, okay? We're sorry and we won't go near Han ever again."

"Yuta what are you say-" Taeyong had gotten himself out of the headlock and was struggling with Chan.

He stopped talking when he saw the furious face of Woojin and backed away with his hands up in surrender.

"Yeah actually we'll leave him alone now." Taeyong ran off with Yuta on his heels.

Jeongin yelled a string of curses after them before turning back to us. He turned bright red when he noticed our shocked faces.

"What?" he scratched his neck nervously.

"Did our Jeongin just swear?" Chan choked out.

"Our baby is growing up." Felix wiped away a tear.

"Are you okay? You're not injured are you?" Minho turned his attention back to me.

"I'm fine, I always forget about my pain when you're around. You're like my natural painkiller."

"I want to puke at how cheesy that was Jisungie and I would have already if anyone else said that but because it's you..." he trailed off and kissed me gently. "I love you."

"You l-love me?" I choked out in shock.

He nodded. "I won't make you say it back until you're ready but... I want you to know I love you."

"What do you love about me?"

He looked me in the eye.

"I love how you blush when I steal a quick kiss in public or when I stare at you lovingly, I love how your cheeks get filled up with food when you're eating which makes you look like a squirrel, I love how you selflessly help people even when it puts you at a disadvantage... yes I'm talking about when you gave me your pen."

I bit my lip in embarrassment before feeling my heart flip as he leaned in closer.

"But most importantly... I love how you're mine."


	18. Chapter 18

Jisung's POV

Months went by and Taeyong no longer bothered me except for the glares he threw in my direction. Whenever I was surrounded by my friends he made sure to steer well clear of the group.

Mr Park apologised to Minho and I for suspending us, but he didn't enforce any punishment onto Taeyong in fear that his parents would stop sponsoring the school.

It was currently a hot afternoon in May and we were relaxing before the long grind to exam week.

"Wanna get bubble tea?" Seungmin suggested as he laid sprawled out on the sofa in Chan's living room.

"Sure I could use something cold to drink." Chan stood up and we all followed suit.

"Do you guys want to go to the trampoline park since we still have time to spare before revision starts?" Hyunjin was scrolling through his phone as we walked.

We all agreed and decided to go to the trampoline park first before getting bubble tea. After buying our tickets I followed the others to find a locker and change my socks into those non-slip socks they provided at the counter.

Minho grabbed my hand with a sly grin as soon as we entered the park and pulled me along with him as we ran up two flights of stairs to the top.

"How... do you have... so much energy?" I panted breathlessly.

He smirked as he bounced on a trampoline. "Let's have a race."

"Are you joking? I feel like I've just ran a damn marathon." I said but eventually agreed when the smile dropped from his face.

We bounced to one side of the room and I awaited Minho's command.

"3, 2, 1... GO!"

Minho was already two trampolines ahead of me by the time I'd stepped foot onto the first one which made me groan and want to give up already. 

He turned around briefly to look at me and laugh at how far behind I was. He bounced on the spot teasingly and mocked me from a distance.

His expression immediately changed when I felt motivated to beat him and he fell over backwards in shock. I had almost caught up to him when he'd scrambled to his feet and started to jump towards the finish line once again.

"Who's the one laughing now?" I mocked as we jumped together.

He let out an annoyed groan and suddenly jumped sideways into me, knocking me to the ground with him on top of me.

"Hey!" I protested.

I gulped as I stared up into his eyes, which were gazing down at me fiercely. 

"You tricked me." he whispered.

"You got distracted." I whispered back.

He paused, his eyes flicking to my lips. "Who wouldn't get distracted by you?"

I blushed furiously and brought his head down so that we could kiss.

"Will you look at that? They can't keep their hands off each other even for a second." Hyunjin's voice made us break away and look at him sheepishly.

"Shut up Hyunjin." Minho glared and helped me to my feet. "Go back to Seungmin."

"He's waiting for us downstairs, we're going to play dodge ball. I thought I would come and let you know... but if you're too busy..."

"No we're coming." I sent Minho a look and we shuffled behind Hyunjin towards the section that had foam balls.

There were a few random kids in the area but apart from that the whole squad was here, and everyone was already holding a ball each.

As soon as I had a ball in my hands I felt something fly past my head, barely skimming my ear.

I turned around to look for the culprit but the area was too crowded so I decided to aim my foam ball at Chan who was focused on cornering Felix. As soon as it hit Chan on the head I ducked behind a random person and picked up another ball.

"It was Jisung!" I heard Felix betray me.

Chan turned his attention away from Felix and bounced towards me as I scrambled over to Minho for protection.

"Hide me." I whispered frantically as I placed a hand on his shoulder and hid behind his slim figure.

Instead of letting me hide behind him, Minho laughed evilly and shook off my hand before bouncing away.

"He's all yours Chan."

I stared after him with my mouth wide open in shock. Did Minho really leave me to fend for myself? Before I could curse at him, Chan threw the ball and hit my forehead. He laughed in glee and stuck out his tongue before the happy expression dropped from his face.

Minho and the others had planned to gang up on him, which resulted in him getting hit by seven balls at the same time.

Minho grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up. I grinned back, I knew he wouldn't betray me without a reason.

We finished up at the trampoline park and went to the bubble tea shop to buy a refreshing drink.

"Can you order a milk tea with tapioca for me please baby? I need to get something." Minho asked me before running off.

I stared at his back with my mouth half open as I was about to ask him what he was going to get, but he didn't give me time to speak.

I ordered the milk tea and ordered a watermelon fruit tea with coconut jelly for myself.

I could see two people out of the corner of my eye sitting at a table but I hadn't paid any attention to them when we'd walked in. While I was waiting for my order I briefly glanced over at them and froze when I saw my mother with an unfamiliar man.

I made eye contact with her for a few seconds, long enough for the man to turn around and look at me.

"Who's that? he asked her.

She broke eye contact and looked at him with a smile. "I have no idea."

I felt a pang in my heart at her response, but I was also glad she wasn't going to abuse me in public.

"Jisung." Hyunjin waved his hand in front of my face. "Your order is ready."

"Huh? Oh- thanks." I picked up the drinks and followed the others out the shop just as Minho ran up to us.

I handed the drink to him, noting the plastic bag he was now holding which he didn't have before.

"Thanks." he pecked my cheek and we walked slowly with the others while sipping our drinks.

"Want to go home?" he nudged me gently as he slurped up the tapioca pearls.

I nodded and we bid our farewells before walking back to his house.

I flopped down on his bed and waited for him to join me. Instead I heard him rustling around in the plastic bag and turned my head to see what he was doing.

He walked to the bed with his hands behind his back, smiling sheepishly. 

I sat up. "What have you got there?"

His sheepish smile turned into a full blown grin as he pulled out a polaroid camera.

My eyes widened as I took it into my hands. "You actually bought one?"

He nodded and sat next to me. "Now we can make our own portfolio of memories."

I pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

I felt nervousness bubble up in my stomach as I pulled away and placed my hands on his shoulders. I stared into his questioning eyes and admired his face before opening my mouth to speak.

"Minnie." I breathed out.

"Yeah?" he stroked my cheek gently.

"I'm ready."

"Ready for what?"

I leaned closer so that our noses were touching slightly.

"I'm ready to say... I love you too."

\- THE END -


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